When the Nazis Came to Skokie

When the Nazis Came to Skokie

Freedom for Speech We Hate

Philippa Strum

Silver Gavel Award, Honorable Mention

In the Chicago suburb of Skokie, one out of every six Jewish citizens in the late 1970s was a survivor—or was directly related to a survivor—of the Holocaust. These victims of terror had resettled in America expecting to lead peaceful lives free from persecution. But their safe haven was shattered when a neo-Nazi group announced its intention to parade there in 1977. Philippa Strum's dramatic retelling of the events in Skokie (and in the courts) shows why the case ignited such enormous controversy and challenged our understanding of and commitment to First Amendment values.

“Stimulating, readable, and will provoke discussion.”

—Law and Politics Book Review

“In a non-technical, but thorough analysis of constitutional doctrine, the reader gets a full picture of the complexities of the rules applied by courts as to when hateful, obnoxious speech, and actions to ensure forceful speech are and are not permissible. The writer is gifted not only in her expertise on the subject matter but in her ability to write about complex legal, political, and social science issues for an audience of students and the informed, wider public.”

—Rhetoric & Public Affairs

“Strum provides general readers and students with a wonderful account of the events surrounding the proposed Nazi demonstration, the legal strategies used to derail or sanction the march, the constitutional issues raised by various legal claims, and the significance of those events and claims for civil liberties in the United States.”

—Journal of American History

“The book is refreshingly jargon free for a law-related subject and a fascinating read for communication scholars on the free speech right in US law and on the Americans’ real-life experience with hate speech as a protected expression.”

—Journal of Communication

“Strum is a knowledgeable guide to the legal intricacies of the various Skokie cases that wound their tangled way to judicial resolution.”

—American Jewish History

“In this short book, Strum offers her readers a wide variety of ways to think about where to draw the limits around controversial speech.”

—Journal of Illinois History

“By examining the historical and legal background of a proposed neo-Nazi march in a Chicago suburb, Strum offers the reader a thorough discussion of the problematic issue of hate speech in the US.”

—Choice

“A meticulous and graceful narrative of one of the most gripping free speech conflicts of modern times.”

—Rodney A. Smolla, author of Free Speech in an Open Society

“Strum succeeds brilliantly in telling the two stories of Skokie-the constitutional struggle over free speech and the human agony and conflict that permeated it. In clear, rigorous, and vivid prose, she recreates the legal and political culture when the case arose in the 1970s and then shows how more recent intellectual theories bear on what happened. A simply wonderful book.”

—Norman Dorsen, Stokes Professor, NYU, and president, ACLU, 1976–1991

“Strum paints a remarkably complete picture of the entire Skokie controversy and helps put the debate over the First Amendment protection for 'hate speech' into meaningful perspective.”

—David Goldberger, Ohio State University College of Law professor and former ACLU attorney for Frank Collin and the National Socialist Party of America

“A book that students will read eagerly and that teachers will find a pleasure to use.”

The debate was clear-cut: American Nazis claimed the right of free speech while their Jewish "targets" claimed the right to live without intimidation. The town, arguing that the march would assault the sensibilities of its citizens and spark violence, managed to win a court injunction against the marchers. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union took the case and successfully defended the Nazis' right to free speech.

Skokie had all the elements of a difficult case: a clash of absolutes, prior restraint of speech, and heated public sentiment. In recreating it, Strum presents a detailed account and analysis of the legal proceedings as well as finely delineated portraits of the protagonists: Frank Collin, National Socialist Party of America leader and the son of a Jewish Holocaust survivor; Skokie community leader Sol Goldstein, a Holocaust survivor who planned a counterdemonstration against the Nazis; Skokie mayor Albert Smith, who wanted only to protect his townspeople; and ACLU attorney David Goldberger, caught in the ironic position of being a Jew defending the rights of Nazis against fellow Jews. While the ACLU did win the case, it was a costly victory-30,000 of its members left the organization. And in the end, ironically, the Nazis never did march in Skokie.

Forcefully argued, Strum's book shows that freedom of speech must be defended even when the beneficiaries of that defense are far from admirable individuals. It raises both constitutional and moral issues critical to our understanding of free speech and carries important lessons for current controversies over hate speech on college campuses, inviting readers to think more carefully about what the First Amendment really means.

About the Author

Philippa Strum, professor of political science at the City University of New York-Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, is author of numerous books, including Brandeis: Beyond Progressivism, Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People,The Supreme Court and "Political Questions", and Presidential Power and American Democracy.

Additional Titles in the Landmark Law Cases and American Society Series